look news india
Pakistan’s national airline Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), which is facing a deepening economic crisis, heavy debt burden and technical failure, has played a new cosmetic move to brighten its poor global image. The airline management has unveiled brand new and modern designed uniforms for its cabin crew. The airline claimed that this makeover would send a new and positive message among international passengers, but its result seems to be exactly the opposite. This move is being widely ridiculed from social media to aviation circles. Common citizens, frequent travelers and digital users are reminding the airline of its ground realities. People say that on one hand the airline does not have the money to properly maintain its old and dilapidated planes, on the other hand, spending wastefully and just changing the clothes of the employees is a very ridiculous and irresponsible step.
This new uniform has come at a time when PIA is going through the most critical financial phase in its history. Although the airline claims to have recently added three new aircraft to its fleet, bearing the operating expenses of these aircraft is also proving to be a burden for the management. In the name of continuously increasing prices of aviation turbine fuel i.e. jet fuel in the international market and to compensate for the financial losses, the airline has completely abolished all the concessions and fare discounts given to the common passengers. Not only this, on the pretext of tensions between America and Israel along with Iran in West Asia and the resulting disruptions in the global supply chain, PIA has reduced the number of dozens of flights and completely stopped its operations on many major international routes. Troubled by frequent cancellations of flights due to shortage of fuel and spare parts, passengers say that when the airline is not able to provide its basic services, then changing the color of the clothes is not going to hide the bankruptcy of the company.
This new uniform was presented on a public platform during a grand and formal program organized in Islamabad. PIA management proudly publicized that an entire panel of Pakistan’s top and internationally renowned fashion designers were involved to create this new apparel collection. Big names like Mahin Khan, Deepak and Fahad, Generation, Ismail Farid, Muneeb Nawaz, Deepak Parwani, Faraz Manan, Aamir Adnan, HSY and Nomi Ansari were included in this panel. Together, these designers chose a combination of two main colors, dark forest green and light grey-blue, to give a modern touch to the airline’s traditional look. The male flight attendants are provided with a well-fitting formal jacket, tailored trousers and a specially patterned tie, while the female crew members are provided with a smart fitted waistcoat over matching trousers, a sophisticated designer scarf and a matching cap.
This makeover of PIA’s flight crew has been done after a long gap of almost ten years. The airline had hoped that the decade-old change would be appreciated on social media, but the flood of reactions on the official Facebook, X and Instagram pages belied the airline’s claims. Taking a dig at PIA’s Facebook post, a user wrote that merely changing clothes does not increase the status of an airline, if you really want to improve its image then start hiring capable and international professionals like big Gulf airlines like Emirates or Qatar Airways. Another disappointed passenger vented his anger and wrote that before wasting money on crew uniforms, repair your junked planes, pay attention to the cleanliness of the cabin and quality of service, change the attitude of customer care and teach professionalism to the staff.
Aviation experts and social media commentators believe that PIA’s biggest problem is its structural corruption, mismanagement, employee negligence and political interference, which cannot be solved by an expensive designer suit or waistcoat. Many regular travelers commented that seats on the airline’s older Boeing and Airbus aircraft remain broken, in-flight entertainment screens do not work, washrooms are extremely dirty and flights are often delayed by hours without prior notice. Passengers say the staff’s behavior towards passengers has been extremely dismissive and unprofessional, which needs a rigorous training program and fundamental reforms, not fancy photo shoots, to change. People on the internet are never tired of suggesting that PIA should set its priorities straight and give up mere lip service and focus entirely on ensuring safety, technical reliability and punctuality of its aircraft.